


bi the way

by thisismk



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Bars and Pubs, Exes, M/M, Meet-Cute, chan is a bartender, jisung is a walking bi stereotype, minho is dealing with a breakup, minho just thinks ji is really cute, sun metaphors because I can't be stopped, the start of something new is playing in the background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 09:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28349454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisismk/pseuds/thisismk
Summary: “Well, this is embarrassing,” the guy muttered.“Don’t be embarrassed. Although the cuffed jeans might have tipped me off at some point,” Minho said, sticking out his leg. “Considering mine are cuffed too.”✩ ✩ ✩or; Minho runs into his bi-phobic ex at the bar with a new man and, lucky for him, they seem to have the same taste in guys
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 15
Kudos: 283
Collections: SKZ Secret Santa 2020





	bi the way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oi_felix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oi_felix/gifts).



> this is a small gift for oi_felix for SKZ Secret Santa 2020 :) happy holidays, friends!

They say that when you go through a breakup, it feels like you’re stuck walking around in the dark. Minho thought that was kind of stupid- he had a great life, with or without a partner, so he was shocked at the way his stomach turned when he made his way sound the corner of the bar and the first thing he saw was his ex-girlfriend wrapped up in somebody else. There’s a hot flash of anger when he realizes who the girl on the other side of the bar is, draping her arm across the shoulders of some mystery man with an  _ amazing _ ass, but then the anger fades and all he’s left with is the sinking feeling of self-pity that comes every time he remembers that she had stormed out of his apartment three weeks ago. 

It’s not that he wants to dwell in the hurt that comes with a messy breakup, but he had come out tonight  _ specifically _ to drink too much and maybe mope in one of the back booths until he didn’t feel sorry for himself anymore, and that was going to be difficult if he had to sit here watching the cause of his lapse in confidence flaunt hot strangers in front of him.

He turned on his heels, heading back to the bar for a glass of literally whatever the closest liquor was. The bartender looked at him with a sad look of understanding. “Rough night?”

“Ex troubles,” he muttered. The bartender slid him a glass of an amber-colored liquid, and he downed it before he could even wonder what type of alcohol it was. The burn in his throat made him want to say whiskey. 

“They giving you trouble?” the guy asked. Minho looked down at his nametag- Chris, it said in English. Minho just snorted at his question. 

“No, I think she’s a little too busy with the new guy to be bothered with annoying me. At least my last ex had the decency to wait a few weeks before he paraded the next conquest around.”

“People can really suck, dude,” Chris nodded, rolling up his sleeves. “I’m sorry it’s tough right now.”

Minho thought back to the previous week, when he had woken up to his girlfriend of three months barging into his apartment and making a beeline for his room, shoving some of her stuff she’d left there into a bag. He had barely blinked awake before she peeled off the hoodie she had borrowed from him, balling it up and tossing it in his face. 

Well, this was one of the more unpleasant ways he’d been woken up. 

“I can’t do this anymore,” she had said to him, looking annoyingly unbothered by the situation. “I’m never going to feel secure in a relationship when I’m worried that my boyfriend might leave me for a  _ dude _ .”

Minho had, obviously, been pissed. “What are you talking about?”

She had rolled her eyes in that way that she  _ knew _ he hated. “You got a text while you were sleeping,” she snapped. “From your ex, Jisoo. Who you forgot to mention was a  _ guy _ .”

He was confused at what the problem was for a moment until he realized that she was mad, not because he hadn’t been more specific about his past relationships, but because it had been a relationship with another man. Minho shook his head, hoping to wake himself up from this dream where his significant other was a biphobic jerk. Understandably, he was upset when he realized that it was real. 

“What does it matter who I dated before, if I’m with you now?”

“I would have never gotten with you if I had known,” she had snapped. After that, he had just laid back down, the rest of her angry rambling rolling off his shoulders. He didn’t even look up when she slammed the door to his apartment shut, walking out of his life. 

It wasn’t like he had loved her, or that he had thought it would last forever. He had always kind of figured they would break up eventually, but something about the thought of somebody else touching her, right in front of him, made him feel impossibly small. He felt the darkness a little more in moments like these, where his normally strong sense of self was shaken and he found himself asking- what did that guy have that he didn’t? Was he smarter, richer,  _ straighter _ ? 

The bartender snapped him out of his pity party by placing another shot in front of him. “This will be your last one, bud. It’s on the house.”

Minho gulped down the liquid regret before he could wallow in the sympathy in the guy’s face and paid his tab silently. His best friend Changbin always told him that he needed to be more  _ in touch with his emotions _ , to not get uncomfortable when somebody showed him kindness, but that was easy for him to say when he was in a happy, secure relationship. Minho didn’t have anything against Changbin’s boyfriend (he was the one who had introduced them, after all, had screamed in excitement when they made it official) but right now he just wanted to hate anybody and everybody who was happy.

The depression part of his grieving process was coming to an end, and he was gearing up for the anger to arrive. When he looked back to see her hand-in-hand with the new asshole, he scoffed. 

Yeah, anger was here. 

“Hey!” he yelled, before he could stop himself. 

He saw the exact moment she realized who was calling out, could almost hear her annoyed sigh. The boy she had a grip on turned around, and Minho was infuriated to find that he was stupidly attractive from the front as well. He was on the shorter side but he made up for it with a strong sense of confidence that Minho could feel all the way from the other side of the bar. The guy carried himself with purpose, standing tall and proud as he tried to figure out who had called out across the room. When they made eye contact the mystery boy pointed to himself, looking confused, and Minho was pissed to find that it was very endearing when he tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. 

Damn it, she had found a cute one.

“Yeah, you!” Minho yelled. “Not that I care, since she’s my  _ ex _ , but dude. Just thought you should know you’re going home with a bi-phobe.”

His ex laughed, a mean sharp pitch, but the guy stopped walking immediately. He looked at Minho, then back to her, then back at Minho, looking to the left and right as if he was watching a tennis match. The back-and-forth might have been comical on any other night, but right now Minho was still feeling bitter about the descrimination against bisexuals that he thought had been left back in the 2010’s. He didn’t have time to be distracted by his ex’s cute new guy. 

The stranger slowly took a step back from her, leaning forward to whisper something in her ear that visibly pissed her off. He knew that look well, and he didn’t wish it on anybody else; he suddenly felt a little guilty for making a scene, especially if it made trouble for the cute guy. His ex turned, grabbing her purse and rushing out of the bar. 

Minho wasn’t quite sure what happened, but he was relieved that she had finally left. He looked down at the empty shot glass, knowing he probably shouldn’t indulge any further, when someone set down a glass of water in front of him. 

He turned to find a pair of bright eyes staring at him curiously, a small mole sitting like a kiss on one of the stranger’s flushed, full cheeks. Minho gulped like an idiot. 

“Hey,” the stranger said. “Thanks for the warning back there.”

Minho blinked stupidly. When his brain caught up to him, he nodded like he had some sort of idea what they were talking about. Changbin always told him to  _ fake it til you make it! _ He wondered if that applied to cute strangers that you and your ex both seemed to be attracted to. 

“Oh, no problem,” he said, wincing when his voice came out a bit higher than usual. He cleared his throat “I honestly didn’t even realize I was yelling, to be honest. I just get so mad when I see her.”

“I get that,” the boy said, settling into the seat next to him. Oh, so he was staying. Cool, cool. 

“Sorry if I made a scene.”

“No, not at all,” the boy said, offering a kind smile. “Don’t worry about it, nobody can get under your skin quite like an ex.”

“That’s an understatement,” Minho muttered, sipping the water gratefully. 

The boy hummed in agreement, settling into his seat further now that Minho was speaking comfortably. The guy had brought with him the soft smell of vanilla and a half-finished beer, tilting his head as he looked at Minho like he was the most interesting person he’d met all night. He was shorter up close, but he carried himself with the kind of confidence that made him seem taller. Minho tried not to stare too much, but there was something about the silver chain resting against the curve of his neck that had his head swimming a little, and he started when he realized that he was speaking to him again.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” Minho said, then laughed at his own joke. He noticed with a small flush of pride that the cute stranger giggled, too. 

“I suppose I did.”

Minho watched as the boy spun a ring on his thumb, and he realized that he seemed a bit nervous. That had him sitting up straighter, and he reached forward to take another sip of water. “Ask away.”

“I’ve just got to know,” the guy said, finally looking up at him. “ _ How _ did you know I was bisexual?”

Minho choked on his water.

“Wha-” he coughed a few times, the stranger kindly thumping his back twice to help him catch his breath. “What?”

“You saw us together, then you warned me that she’s a jerk to bi guys,” he said sheepishly. “I just was wondering what about me made it so obvious. Is it the outfit?” He looked down to his ensemble, a band t-shirt tucked into a pair of dark jeans that Minho could now see were indeed cuffed at the ends. He had a plaid flannel tied around his hips, and Minho got a little distracted when he realized how small his waist was.  _ How _ ?

“I should be better about not being a walking stereotype,” the man continued. “My friends always tell me that I’m single-handedly keeping the jokes alive.”

“Well I like the outfit,” Minho said. “You make it look good, bi culture or not.”

“Thank you,” The guy laughed. “Can I tell you a secret? I also love to make little finger guns when someone says a really good pun, and I freaking love  _ Sweater Weather _ , so maybe I’m just a lost cause.”

Minho laughed in spite of himself. The guy was more talkative than he’d anticipated, and his stomach did a tiny swoop when he realized that this insanely attractive boy was so open about being into boys.  _ I’m a boy _ , Minho thought stupidly. 

“Stereotypes aren’t all bad,” Minho said. “I love puns  _ bi the way _ .”

“I guess the joke  _ goes both ways _ ,” the guy laughed. “I also can’t seem to sit on a chair properly, but I’m much more proud about making puns.”

“You should be,” Minho said through a playful smile. “But to answer your original question, I had no idea about you.”

The guy furrowed his eyebrows. “Then why-”

“I was actually talking about  _ me _ .”

The stranger’s mouth opened in a small “o”, eyes growing wide. Minho thought he saw a bit of a blush on his cheeks as he nodded to himself, the entire situation starting to make more sense. When he looked back up, Minho noticed that his smile made the shape of a heart. Cute. 

“Well, this is embarrassing,” the guy muttered. 

“Don’t be embarrassed. Although the cuffed jeans  _ might _ have tipped me off at some point,” Minho said, sticking out his leg. “Considering mine are cuffed too.”

The boy looked down at Minho’s jeans and laughed out loud. It was the kind of laugh that bounced off the walls, bright and unashamed, and Minho found himself leaning in closer to the boy without even realizing it. He pointed to his colorful socks, little ducks covering them with splashes of yellow, and Minho couldn’t stop the giggle from spilling out of him. 

He was surprised to realize that it was the first time he’d genuinely had a good night since the breakup. 

“I’m Minho,” he said, extending a hand. 

The boy took it, giving it a gentle shake. “Jisung,” he offered. His hands were impossibly soft and a few of his fingernails had some chipped silver polish on them. 

Jisung set his elbows on the table, creating a triangle on the table with his fingertips touching at his lips in a very serious-looking pose. Minho was worried that he was going to ask him something about the breakup, or maybe hint that their conversation was over, but instead Jisung leaned forward and asked, “Do you wanna split some nachos with me?”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Minho leaned in, the alcohol in his system making him braver than usual. “God, I would love some nachos.”   


“I knew I liked you!” Jisung laughed. He waved the bartender over, ordering a basket of nachos and two more waters. 

“What can I say?” Minho winked at him. “I’m easy to like.”

Usually his bravado would scare off some of the people that approached him, but he was surprised when Jisung just barked out a laugh and raised one of his eyebrows. Minho had a sneaking suspicion he may have found somebody that could keep up with him. 

“Is that so?” he asked. “And here I thought you were just the protector of the bisexuals, hiding over here in the corner.”

“I can be many things!” Minho countered. “I can be a good friend, I can be a straight-A student, I can be unfairly good at creating dance moves that sync up with infomercials. . .”

“Now that last one I’m particularly interested in.”

Minho winked at him.“Have you ever seen a man do a body roll to the jingle of a car commercial?”

Jisung leaned forward. “I have not yet been blessed.”

Minho stood up, placing his glass of water back on the table. “Then today is your lucky day, Jisung,” he said with a flourish of his arms. “Because I’ll have you know that every morning at 1:17a.m., the local news channel runs a commercial for the used-car dealership downtown and they have what is unequivocally the greatest jingle of all time.”

“But it’s only,” Jisung looked down to his watch. “10:30.”

“Oh,” Minho paused, his tipsy brain not having thought of the constraints of time. 

“I guess that means you’re stuck with me for the next few hours,” Jisung said with a sly smile. “Because I have  _ got _ to see this dance.”

✩ ✩ ✩

The evening bled into midnight easily, munching on bar nachos and pointing out interesting strangers across the bar to make up little stories about what their lives might look like. They swapped stories about their lives, cheering when they convinced Chris to turn the tv in the upper right corner of the bar to the channel they wanted. When the car commercial came, they somehow managed to hush the rest of the bar in time to turn up the volume as high as it would go, Minho jumping into an elaborate body roll and two-step dance routine to the 30-second jingle that had the entire bar cheering.

He had kind of expected Jisung to make his exit afterwards; after all, he’d initially said that he wanted to stick around because he just wanted to see the  _ Jingle Jamboree _ , so Minho was surprised when he slid back into the booth after the show was over, picking up their conversation right where they had left off. 

By the time the lights came on around two thirty, Minho was shocked to realize that he’d spent all night at the bar with Jisung, just talking. He saw the bartender walk over, presumably to kick them out, when Jisung waved. 

“Hey Chan, you off?”

“Just need to finish locking up the back, then we can head out.”

“You guys know each other?” Minho tilted his head in confusion. “Wait, I thought your name was Chris?”

Jisung snorted. “They still won’t give you a new nametag?”

Chan smiled with a shrug. “One of the cooks that used to work here was named Chris, and when they found out that was my English name they said,  _ dope, no need to get a new one _ .”

“Savage,” Minho. “I kind of dig it. You guys know each other?”

“Chan is my roommate,” Jisung said with a grin. “He works here most nights but I always come on Wednesdays, because appetizers are half off, and who doesn’t love an appetizer? He couldn’t get rid of me if he tried.”

“And I’ve tried,” Chan said with a wink. 

Jisung complained about the comment, but listened to his friend as he stood to get up. Minho watched the smaller boy stand by his chair as Chan collected his things, and when they were ready to leave, Jisung paused. 

“I’m glad I met you tonight,” Jisung said, fiddling with his phone. 

“Me too,” Minho said. 

In the back of his mind, he realized that they were all just kind of awkwardly staring at each other, but luckily Chan seemed to be used to his roommate spacing out a bit, leaning forward to stage-whisper, “ _ Ask for his number. _ ”

“ _ I am working on it. _ ” he hissed, but there was no bite to it as he turned back around with a small flush high on his cheeks. Minho had to put the back of his hand up to his mouth to stifle his laugh. 

“I know we only started talking tonight because your ex girlfriend was hitting on me,” Jisung said with a laugh. “But would you maybe want to go out with me sometime?”

“Lucky for you,” Minho gave him a cheeky smile. “My ex and I seem to have the same taste in men.”

Jisung beamed at him with a smile so wide it almost made him blush, too. Minho typed his number into his phone, sending himself a text of Jisung’s name with a little sunshine emoji so he could text him later that week to set something up. He usually liked to play the cat-and-mouse game a bit, but something about the boy in front of him with the heart-shaped smile made him want to jump right in as soon as he could. 

The short walk back to his apartment should have felt lonely, considering he was still walking alone in the dark, but he felt a small kind of buzzing inside that kept him moving. When he got back home, he crashed on the couch for a few hours, setting an alarm before he drifted off. For some reason, he kind of wanted to watch the sunrise that day, and he knew if he crawled into bed he wouldn’t be able to get back up in time. He blinked his eyes open just as the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon, painting the world in shades of orange and yellow. It had been awhile since he’d stayed out all night, so used to being stuck in his apartment with someone that he didn’t even like very much, but now he was sitting on his balcony at six-thirty in the morning watching the sunrise light up his world bit by bit. For the first time in a long time, he felt settled. 

Somehow, he knew that things would be okay- maybe even  _ better _ than okay. As he sat out on his balcony, waiting for the sunrise to reach the side of his building, he found himself enjoying the last few minutes of the shadows. Maybe people were right about breakups bringing a sad kind of darkness along with them, but Minho thought that maybe the bright spot waiting for him on the other side of the night was well worth the bump in the road. 

When he looked down at his phone and saw a text waiting for him, the name carrying with it a little sun emoji smiling back up at him, the rays of light finally rose to rest on the side of his face, filling him with the spark of something new. 


End file.
